SACRAMENTO – Senate Bill 270 (Padilla-De León-Lara) has passed both houses of the California State Legislature. The final Senate vote was 22-15.

“In crafting this compromise, it was imperative to me that we achieve the goals of doing away with single-use plastic bags, help change consumer behavior, and importantly, support and expand California jobs,” said Senate President pro Tempore-elect Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles). “SB 270 is a win-win for the environment and for California workers.”

“We applaud Senator De León for crafting solutions that balance efforts to clean the environment with the daily needs of family survival,” said Irma Muñoz, Executive Director of Mujeres de la Tierra. “We’re thrilled to support SB 270 which protects the environment and supports California manufacturing jobs.”

In 2013, Senator De León did not support bag ban legislation due to unaddressed policy concerns regarding the adverse impact on California workers. Last Fall, Senator De León worked with industry and environmentalists to craft a solution that worked for all in SB 270.

This legislation will implement a ban on single-use plastic grocery bags while promoting recycling and California manufacturing, and provides financial incentives to maintain and retrain California employees in affected industries.

Senate Bill 270 will institute a plastic bag ban beginning in 2015 for grocery store carry-out bags and create a mandatory minimum ten cent fee for recycled paper, reusable plastic and compostable bags. The measure will also provide financial incentives for worker retraining and company retooling.

Specifically, Senate Bill 270 will:

Ramp up the use of recycled content for reusable plastic bags to promote recycling and California manufacturing. In 2016, bags will be required to have 20 % recycled content and in 2020 be made of 40% recycled content.

Support recycling of agriculture plastic film which is currently sent to landfills.

Require large grocery store chains to take back used bags for continued recycling.

Require third party certification of reusable plastic bags to ensure compliance with bag standards which support California manufacturing.

Senator Kevin de León represents the 22nd District including all or parts of the City of Los Angeles, Alhambra, East Los Angeles, Florence-Graham, Maywood, San Marino, South Pasadena, Vernon, and Walnut Park. He is the Senate Appropriations Chair and is a member of the following committees: Energy, Utilities and Communications; Governmental Organization; Health and Public Safety. Follow the Senator on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SenatorDeLeon or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SenatorDeLeon.

“Today California is one step closer to making history by becoming the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic carryout bags statewide. If this bill become law, California will continue its storied legacy as a global leader in bold, game-changing policies to help create a better planet for future generations," said Ronald Fong, President and CEO, California Grocers Association.

More than 100 cities and counties in California, including our largest metropolitan areas, have deliberated, studied, scrutinized, and, ultimately approved bans on single-use carryout plastic bags. Thousands of other jurisdictions worldwide have done the same. SB 270 will bring uniformity to California, while further reducing the use of plastic bags that litter streets, clog waterways, endanger animals and natural resources and cost taxpayers.

"Nearly one-third of Californians already live in communities that have banned these bags. It is time for our state to step up and usher in a new era of reusable bags as the norm rather than the exception.," said Marce Gutiérrez and Héctor Huezo, co-chairs of the Latino Coalition for a California Bag Ban. "SB 270 will foster innovation, create homegrown jobs, safeguard businesses and protect California’s treasured natural resources. We are grateful to Sens. Padilla, de Leon and Lara for listening to the concerns of Californians and for bravely standing up for economic justice and environmental common sense."

Said Mark Murray, Executive Director, Californians Against Waste "SB 270 is a tried-and-true policy which brings a broad base of support. By eliminating single-use plastic carryout grocery bags, consumer behavior shifts as shoppers make a habit of using reusable bags."

Should consumers forget their reusable bags or need an extra bag at checkout, recycled paper bags are available for a 10-cent charge. Amendments to SB 270 ensure that those on food assistance programs are not subject to the 10-cent charge and to ensure that monies generated from the 10-cent charge stay local to be used for cost recovery and consumer education on reusable bag use.

# # #

LATINO COALITION FOR A CALIFORNIA BAG BAN

August 21, 2014

Dear Member of the State Assembly:

We write once more to express our unconditional support for SB 270 to ban statewide polluting

single-­‐use plastic bags. We urge your vote in favor of this important bill, in the Appropriations

Committee and on the Assembly floor. Its passage would significantly curtail a costly scourge in our

neighborhoods, parks, roads, rivers, and ocean that also burdens our children and future generations:

pollution from single-­‐use plastic bags, which is preventable.

Passing SB 270 would build on similar policies in more than 100 municipalities throughout California

that have dramatically reduced their litter and waste problems from plastic bags. Still, more than 10

billion single-­‐use bags get discarded each year throughout California. Approving SB 270 will also hasten

our shift to reusable bags and strengthen the growing industry and workforce in making reusable bags

here in California. As low- to moderate to low income taxpayers, we pay many times for single

use plastic bags, especially in efforts to control and clean up bags in the waste stream.

As an example, the Los Angeles County Public Works estimates that most consumers pay approximately $20

per year at the counter in grocery stores in hidden costs to subsidize plastic bags. The L.A. County Flood

Control District spends more than $18 million annually for overall litter prevention and cleanup efforts.

The Natural Resources Defense Council found in 2013 that local governments in California spend nearly

$500 million to catch and collect plastic bags and other trash entering our arroyos, rivers, lakes, and

ocean. Because plastic bags make up as much as 25 percent of the litter stream by weight, they are

disproportionately responsible for these costs.

Once in our oceans, plastic bags break down into smaller pieces without fully biodegrading, and they

absorb other pollutants such as PCBs and PAHs. Ingested by marine animals and fish, they enter

Or sign in with email

Create an account

Charging for the plastic luggage is extra of a sign then whatever else. It signals to the consumer that they need to be considering their impact whilst shopping at the grocery store. Its the identical principles as taxing certain gadgets like cigarettes, which have bad external outcomes on society (ie. Fitness fees increase). In a totally very small way, charging for the plastic luggage is a type of environmental tax considering that the use of plastic has poor externalities within the form of pollutants and more waste etc. http://www.essayhelpdeal.co.uk/ . This way consumers can start to internalize the actual prices in their use of plastic and forces them to begin considering options (ie. Use reusable bags, use less bags, purchase bulk to reduce wrapping etc